INGOLDISTHORPE HALL

Ingoldisthorpe Hall, originally named Mount Amelia, is a significant Grade II* country house understood to date back to 1745. A house with a wonderful presence, helped by the sweeping drive up to the main façade of English bond, stone and stucco, flanked by two substantial wings of local carrstone that defines this part of the county. The hall is a rare find in West Norfolk, with major estates retaining most of the major houses, with both Sandringham and the Le Strange Estate as near neighbours.

The hall’s architectural merit continues internally, with design features such as a stucco Zeus Eagle in the main hall, fine panelling in the principal rooms, and mid 18th century fireplaces. This sets the tone for the elegant and light rooms throughout. The drawing room and family room are particularly impressive, not least for the first glimpse they provide of the exceptional views to the Wash, a shallow bay of the North Sea and one of the countries largest Estuaries. Both rooms are at the very centre of the house, ensuring they are enjoyed fully.
Two substantial wings provide an array of further rooms, with a charming living room of triple aspect to the south, east and west and with fireplace, two kitchens at either end of the house, TV room, and plenty of storage space including a larder off one of the kitchens, providing a functionality alongside side the style of the house.

A more intimate lower ground floor hosts the dining room, an
atmospheric room to enjoy both formal and informal dining, together with a barrel vaulted wine cellar and ancillary cellar storage.

The first floor layout is incredibly user friendly, with three staircases leading to the nine bedrooms. The principal bedrooms are again at the centre of the house, with three impressively spacious and refined bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms. A landing off the central gallery leads to a further five bedrooms and three bathrooms. The south wing hosts a substantial bedroom with en suite bathroom, and study area. The entire South Wing can be self-contained when combined with the ground floor kitchen and drawing room. All bedrooms have wonderful views, of the park, gardens and across Norfolk.

The Folly
To the north of the house is The Folly, originally the stables, grooms cottage and coach house for the hall. The buildings were converted to one dwelling in about 2008, with Gothic tower and castellations previously added in 1820. The Folly has been used as a private dwelling, or more recently as a productive holiday cottage.

A substantial house in its own right, together with its own gardens and views over a secret dell, The Folly is an excellent asset to the main hall, providing additional accommodation, the ability to house staff, or to yield a helpful income from letting.

With a spacious double height sitting room, open plan kitchen/ breakfast room, and light and airy bedrooms, The Folly has an abundance of charm and functionality. There are four bedrooms in total, one of which is on the first floor, a family bathroom, and the stylish setup of a roll top bath in the principal bedroom.

French doors from the kitchen lead out to a west facing terrace, and a separate door to an outside dining area on the edge of the partly walled garden. A mixture of floor to ceiling glazing, and picture windows out over the grounds helps to remind you of your historic surroundings.

Garden and grounds
As one would expect from a house of this calibre, the landscape and setting compliments the Hall perfectly. Entering through listed ornate wrought iron gates, a gravelled drive sweeps through the east park, passing The Folly, and concluding in front of the east façade and main entrance. Positioned at the most elevated and central part of the circa 33 acres of park and woodland, the Hall has outstanding views across its owned land and beyond. The park sweeps round from the east, to the south and away to the west of the Hall, with fine specimen trees throughout including Oak, beech, lime and an outstanding Cedar of Lebanon at the front of the house. The park slopes away to the west before flattening to an open area towards the boundary, which is currently fenced for grazing but could become a wild flower meadow or similar.

The formal lawns to the west of the house are defined from the park by a ha ha. Immediately adjoining the house are terraces, perfect for outside dining, entertaining and relaxing whilst looking out over the park. To the north-west of the house is an area of mature woodland, with pathways meandering through until reaching a large dell, a magical area with banks of rhododendron and a pond at the centre. A partly walled garden, with high south facing wall, and the remaining foundations of former greenhouses, is defined by box hedging, rose beds and deep herbaceous borders. This would be an obvious location for a swimming pool and/or tennis court. To the very east of the land is a paddock, bordered by fine trees.